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Protesters gather at the Wisconsin State Capitol, holding signs.

Trump's Water Policies Put America's Drinking Water at Risk

America at 250: A Country in Distress

America at 250: A Country in Distress

I Alone Can (Fix) Destroy It

I Alone Can (Fix) Destroy It

a house made of brown cardboard in a person's hands.

Homelessness Just Declined in the U.S.–Trump’s Plans Will Take Us Backwards.

Congressional experts call for emergency, remote legislative operations

Congressional experts call for emergency, remote legislative operationsplay icon
Continuity of Congress in the Wake of COVID-19
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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMar 23, 2020
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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With a senator and two House members now testing positive for the novel coronavirus, calls for Congress to shift to emergency, remote work are escalating.

A group of congressional experts gathered (virtually, of course) last week to talk through how lawmakers could ensure continuity of the legislative branch while protecting the health of lawmakers.

Guest speakers included two experts on continuity of government: Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and John Fortier, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Democracy Project.

The discussion was hosted by Daniel Schuman of Demand Progress, Marci Harris of Popvox Inc. and Lorelei Kelley of Georgetown's Beeck Center. Schuman and Harris recently wrote an op-ed for The Fulcrum calling on Congress to change the rules to allow the chambers to conduct business — including voting — online in times of emergency.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Mitch McConnell have so far rejected colleagues' calls to permit them to vote from home until the pandemic is under control.

Watch the full video above or read more in First Branch Forecast.


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The Façade of the American Dream: Reimagining the next 250 years
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Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

The Façade of the American Dream: Reimagining the next 250 years

Since the birth of the United States, people have been dreaming of the American "Good Life."

This dream accelerated after the Industrial Revolution arrived in the U.S. in the 1800s. Innovative manufacturing practices integrated new technologies, lowering costs and spurring economic growth. As a result, millions of people gained access to affordable consumer goods. These changes improved living standards, making the dream attainable for more people.

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As part of a collaboration between The Fulcrum's NextGen initiative and Made By Us, The Fulcrum is publishing Letters to America, a series created through the Youth250 project that invites Gen Z to reflect on the nation’s past, present, and future as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary.

In small towns across the nation, in accordance with ours of Madison New Jersey, we will gather to recognize an anniversary. Though this milestone has been one of many, I ask that it not be a mere nod to the curiosities of the past, but the spark of an ongoing admiration for all that led us here.

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In Texas, People Don’t Kill People, Guns Kill People

It has been said that a good prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. Apparently, that’s not the case in very red Collin County, Texas, where a self-described recovering alcoholic fatally shot his daughter in the chest, only to be the beneficiary of a particularly lenient grand jury. As a retired justice of the New York State Supreme Court, the case intrigued me and I tried to understand why the prosecutor had failed to obtain an indictment against him.

In January 2025, the victim and her boyfriend traveled from their home in England to visit her father at his home in Collin County where the shooting had occurred. Although the evidence presented to a grand jury cannot be disclosed, it is reasonably assumed that the grand jury heard the statement made by the father to the police at the scene immediately following the shooting. He related how he had taken his daughter, at her request, to see his gun, and that when he brought her to his bedroom and removed the gun from a cabinet in which he kept it, “it went off.” He could not recall if his finger had been on the trigger.

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As America nears its 250th anniversary, learn why schools, mentoring, and leadership development are critical to preparing the next generation of leaders.

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As America approaches its 250th birthday, we've been reflecting on the leadership that built our nation and sustained it through two and a half centuries of challenge and change. From local communities to national institutions, America's progress has always depended on people who were willing to take initiative, serve others, and help navigate moments of uncertainty and opportunity.

As we celebrate these leaders for the impact they had on history, a critical question surfaces: Where—and how—did they learn to lead?

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